smith



A. G. SMITH.

AUTOMOBILE LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, I9Is.

1,1 93,438.. IIItIIIItIIl Aug. 1, 1916..

2 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

' d YTURNEYS A. G. SMITH.

AUTOMOBILE LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4. I9Is.

l 9 l 93,438, Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W/TNESSES /N VEN TOR /0 NTOH/VEVS characters designate the same parts inthe ALVIN e. sivrrrn, er nnnirsrnen, nnw'ronn.

AUTOMOBLE-LAMP.

messias.,

Specication of Letters Patent.

resented aeg. i, raie.,

applicativa mea march a, 191e. serial no. saure.

of Hempstead, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Automobile-Lamp, ofy which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to electric lamps and has particular reference to headlights for automobiles or other vehicles.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an improved construction of head-v light whereby the glare therefrom may be reliably controlled without minimizing the effectiveness of thelight for driving purposes.

A further object of the invention is to provide an vimproved reiiecting structure adapted to concentrate the light upon the roadway downwardly and forwardly in front of the vehicle, but adapted to prevent glare from thelalnp, especially from its lupper portion, that would tend tov be objectionable to parties approaching the vehicle carrying the lamp. y

'Another bbject of the 'invention is to provide means in the nature of an attachment for `common or standard formsof lamps whereby the several` advantages 'of the improvement may be utilized by application to lamps now in use andwithout material or extensive change. Y

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the arrangement andacombination of parts ,hereinafter described and claimed, vand whilethe invention' is not restricted to'the exact details of construction disclosed herein, still for thev ment thereof reference is had to the accom-1 panying drawings, in which like reference several views, 4and in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the new form of lamp casing, a portion being broken away to indicate the structure; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal view of the same on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front elevation 'of a modification adapted for connec-- tion to a standard ylamp of conventional forni; Fig. e' is a vertical longitudinal section 'of the same on the line '4f-4;- `and Fig. 5 is a sectional detail` on the linev of Fie'. d,

leferring now more particularly to the first twofigures l show a main supporting casing l0 having, a novel and characteristic form especially at its upper portion, being flattened as viewed from the front, for econ-l omy of space. The lower portion of the casing may, in the main, simulate the form of the conventional headlight casing. At the front of the casing `10 is connected in any suitable manner a lens plate comprisinga rim 11 shaped to fit snugly upon the front edge 12 of the casing 10 and shown herein as secured in `place by means of a pair of hinge pins 13. either of which'may constitute a hinge pivot when the other'pin is removed, or both of which may be removed for the purpose of removing the lens plate as a whole. The lens plate also includes an opaque member or shutter 1i closing all that portion of the front above the focal axis of the casing and locked to the rim 11 by any suitable means such as an internal rim w15.

l 1n the lower portion oi'- the lens plate is sehe principal element of the improvementl consists oi' a reiiector of peculiar form secured within the casing and adapted to pro- -ject the light forwardly from the lower half of the casing quite similar to the action of an ordinary parabolic reflector but with the upper portion of the reflector so constructed that it serves to project the light downwardly and thereby intensifies the light on the roadway directly infront of the vehicle. Thisrelector indicated at 17 may be described as consisting of a section of a parabola, Ythe upper half of which is mashed downwardly toward the longer axis of the geometric figure. in fact, the central point of said upper half at 18 lies substantially in said longer Va-Xis or what would correspond to the :focal axis of an ordinary parabolic reflector. It will thus be seen that the ceiling or upper portion of the reflector approximates a plane at 19, the same being inclined forwardly and downwardly from the focal portion 20 of the reflector( rlhe whole of the interior surface of thev reflector 17 constitutes a reflecting surface.'

itL 21 is a socket in which a lamp L of any suitable nature may be fitted, and the.

El@ d extends around parallel to the rim ofthe lens 16. A ring or gasket of felt or other suitable soft compressible packing material, shown at 25, is placed between the flange 24 and the internal rim 15, such gasket making a tight lit between the reflector and the lens plate, thereby excluding dust from the reflector and preventing rattling of the structure, such connection being madev effective -by the closing of the lens plate after the other parts of the device are adjusted. o

At 26 I provide a cross bar extending horizontally across the front or mouth portion of the casing just back of the lens plate and-against which the rear face of the upper.

portion of the ange 24 is adapted to squarely abut. A pair of braces 27 extend vfrom the end portions of Athe cross bar upwardly and rearwardly to the top of the main casing 10 to which they are connected at the point 28. At the lower portion of the casing is arranged a lug 29 in the vertical 4plane of the cross bar 26 against which the lower portion of the flange 24 abuts. A screw threaded shank 30 is anchored at 31 to the extreme rear portion of the reflector 17 and extends thence rearwardly along the focal axis of the casing and lastly out through an opening 32 in the main casing 10. An internally threaded sleeve 33 having a shoulder 34 is projectedS inwardly through the opening 32 and by coperation with the, shank '30 tends to draw the reflector rearwardly, causing thefflange portion 24 thereof to bind snugly against the stop means 26 and 29 above described, the shoulder 34: bearing squarely against the outer surface of the casing for this purpose.`

With the parts assembled as shown and described above, the light from the lamp passing downwardly acts upon `the lower portion of the reflector 17, the same as in any other parabolic lreflector, said light being projected forwardly in parallel lines as indicated at a. Thus the effect of the reflector with respect to all parts thereof below the horizontal plane of the focal axis b of the casing isA substantially the same as in any other lamp havingaparabolic reflector. All of the glare that is incident, however, to the light emerging lfrom the upper `half of a arabolic reflector7o'f ordinary construction 1s shut ofi` by the shutter 14. The rays of light from the lamp toward the upper portion of the reflector 19 are given either but a single reflection, as indicated at' c, outwardly and downwardly upon the roadway p in front of the vehicle, or else they .are reflected 4to the lower portion of the reflector and thence givenl a second reflection, as inf dicated at d. The effect, therefore, 'ofthe Lineales constituting a closure for the lamp casingV and comprising a rim 1l and a window 16. According to the usual practice a lamp L is secured in the socket 21 in the focus of the reflector yand wires 22, as above described, lead thereto through the main casing. To adapt my improvement to a standard lamp of this character I remove the lens plate and .secure in the upper half ofthe front opening of the lamp a shutter 14 which obstructs the rays of light from the upper half of the reflector 17. The light from the lamp L passing downwardly therefrom' and outwardly from the lower half of the reflector has the same effect as before described, passing in parallel rays forwardly in a beam. Above the lamp, however, I provide a re flector 19 of approximately flat form and having an attached concave hood 20- shown as of -substantially hemispherical` form and having a slot 35 which straddles. the lamp socket 21. The reflector .19 isk secured adjustably to the shutter 14:', the samebeing 36. The hinge is shown as comprisinga pair of straps adjacent each end of the reflector,

one of the-straps 37'being connected to the rear surface of the shutter and` the other 38y being connected b a dove-tail connection to a rib 39extend1ng along the upper surface ofthe reflector19. The .hubs 37 "and 38 are preferably serrated, as shown-best in Fig. -5, so asl to make a positive adjustment of the reflector up or down'to provide a proper angle for the light reflected thereby,

and this adjustment, together with the longibe placed behind the lamp, but provides for the vertical adjustment '.-ofA the upper rel flector as may be required.l In both forms of the invention shown,-I provide for refleeting means, the 'lower portion of which is parabolic and the upper portion of ywhich serves vto throw the alight forwardly and downwardly to concentrate thesam'e upo'n theroadway directly in front of the vehicle,

or to provide a moderate diffused light as a;

result of double reflection.

I c1aili1:--v 1 '1. In an automobile lamp, the combination the lower portion of the reflecting means bein parabolic and the upper portion of the re ecting means being relatively fiat and inclined forwardly and downwardly and servin to concentrate a portion of the light recen/ed by it downwardly in front of the vehicle, and means to adjust the upper portion of the reecting means vertically with respect to the main casing and source of light.

v 2. ln an automobile lamp, 'the combina-AK tion with a main casin and a source of light lcarried therein, of re ecting means for the light, the same comprising a parabolic re- Hector below the source of light and a reflector of a Hat nature inclined forwardly and downwardly and having its front edge portion terminating about the focal axis of the lamp, and supporting means for the latter mentioned reector providing for both longitudinal and vertical adjustment thereof with respect to the main casing and source of light,

3. in an automobile lamp, the combination of a main casing, a source of light carried therein, reflecting means for the light, said reflecting means being parabolic Ibelow the focus of the light and serving to project the rays of light forwardly unobstructedlyA in parallelism' from the casing throughout that portion thereof below the foca-l axis of the lamp, a shutter carried within the upper portion of the casing at Vthe front thereof and serving to close that portion of the casing above the focal axis, the upper portion of the reiecting means being located in the rear of said shutter and being inclined forwardly and downwardly with its front edge coinciding approximately with the lower ed e of the shutter, and means to secure the re ecting means in position in the casing. ALVIN Gr. SMITH. Witnesses:

Geo. L. BEELER, Primi? D. ROLLHAUS. 

